Stay With Me
by herwhiteknight
Summary: Sarah Manning is not cut out for police work. When an injury resulting from her chase with "killer clone" forces her to find a place to rest for the night, she ends up at Alison's doorstep and has her second, face-to-face encounter with the "arguably more attractive than the real Sarah." As the night wears on, Sarah finds that she doesn't really mind that description so much.


A/N: Pretend with me that Sarah hurt her ankle after her first chase/encounter with Helena and, after receiving the crutches and the cast from the police, heads over to Alison's to relax for the night. Cosima, waiting at Alison's for her flight out, decides to spend her last few hours awake with Sarah watching a movie.

This was based off of an OTPprompt that I seem to have misplaced. But the prompt was basically one person of your OTP injuring their ankle and the other person sits around with them and doodles on their cast to make them feel better.

* * *

"You bloody idiot," Felix sighed as he grabbed Sarah's crutches and tossed them into the backseat of Beth's car before getting into the driver's seat. "What were you thinking, chasing after that bloody killer clone like that?"

"I didn't know she was a clone before, now did I?" Sarah grumbled as she sat in the other seat, lugging her cast in behind her before slamming the door.

"That's not the point, Sarah," he sighed, "Where are you going to go, looking like this, hm? Can't bloody well go back to S's, can you?"

She sighed as well, running a hand through her hair as she blew out frustrated air. "Your place?" she suggested feebly.

"No, no way," he shot down instantly, "I've got guests coming, and it wouldn't do well for them to see you and your mummified foot. Think of something else."

"I have bad news for you then Fee," she sighed, really seeing no other options.

"What- no. No," he protested.

"It's either that or your lame sister will drag down the business," she shrugged, pointing out the windshield. "Go on. Drive."

* * *

"God, you know how much I hate suburbia, Sarah," he grumbled as he turned onto Alison's street. "I-"

"You break out, I know. Look," she started, turning her torso in the seat, "You've got me this far. Just... help me get the crutches out of the car then you can take it back to the underground by Beth's and head back home. I'll call you in the morning."

"Fine," he sighed dramatically as he flung open the driver's side door and stepped out, going immediately to the back seat to grab the crutches while Sarah hopped awkwardly out of the car as best she could.

"Thanks Fee," she grinned gratefully at him as she tucked the padding under her arm pits, leaning her weight more on the left one as she kissed him on the temple. "Don't ruin the car, yeah?"

"Wouldn't even dream," he rolled his eyes as he gripped her shoulders and returned the kiss. "Careful crossing the road, gimpy!" he shouted after her as he slipped into the driver's seat once more, revving the engine a couple times for good measure. If Sarah had a free hand, she'd be giving him the finger right about now. As it was, she just barely made it to the sidewalk as he pulled the car around on the narrow street and drove off.

"Here's hoping I don't end up with another gun in my face," Sarah grumbled as she rapped on the glass pane with bruised knuckles. Was there a part of her that _didn't _get bloody battered during that chase with that bloody lunatic lookalike?

The lock clicked then, but a face didn't appear at the window, as she had been expecting. Instead, the door just swung open and Sarah came face to face with herself. In glasses. And dreads. _That'll take getting used to, still, _she thought as she took in Cosima's form, heart hammering a little harder. "Wha- what are you doing here?" she asked as she nudged open the door the rest of the way, ignoring her lingering looks. For now.

"Flight leaves early in the morning," she shrugged, closing the door behind Sarah and locking it. "Alison's place is closer to the airport than the hotel I've been staying in, so now I'm here for the next few hours. What happened to-"

"Cosima, who was that at the door? Did you at least check out the window first before- oh. You," Alison's voice drifted down the stairs softly, a hall light flickering on as it followed her voice.

"Yeah, Alison, hi," Sarah shrugged as best she could under the restrictions of the metal under her arms. "Look, I don't want to be an inconvenience, I just need a place to breathe for a night, not even, yeah? Let me just crash here and I'll, I dunno, take a taxi with Cos to the airport. Find myself from there," she explained as best she could while Alison was still giving her room to speak, finding the nickname for Cosima slipping from her lips surprisingly easily.

Alison pursed her lips, settling her arms into a tight posture in front of her body, an admonishing finger tracing her lips as her other hand gripped her elbow. She looked to Cosima with a sharp glance, who just shrugged. "It's your house. But, she can, like, keep me company, you know?" Cosima suggested, looking over at Sarah, who shifted her weight from her arms to her good foot. _And why did Cosima's suggestion make her heart race like that? _

"Fine," she stated through tight lips, pointing a finger in Cosima's direction, "Keep her in line." To Sarah, "I expect you to be gone before the sun even rises and for this whole area to look as spotless as you found it. Goodnight." With that, the turned and padded delicately up the steps and back to bed.

"Is it possible to be anymore uptight?" Sarah grumbled, clipping her way over to the couch so she could stretch her cast out on the cushions, something Alison probably would have never approved of. Good thing she had the more laid back version of herself keeping her... company. Again that thought increased her heartbeat ever so slightly.

"Don't mind Alison," Cosima shrugged, settling onto the armchair that Sarah herself had first occupied during her first visit. When she had first been introduced to the idea of clones. _Still weird, _Sarah thought with a sigh as she aimlessly let her eyes wander, her gaze landing on Cosima, who continued speaking, "She's just.. still trying to live a normal life. Trying to forget she's a clone."

"Dunno how that would be possible," Sarah twitched a shoulder nonchalantly, "Seeing as your face is always... well, staring you in the face all the time, you know?"

"It's been hard for her. She's got kids, a husband. Kinda, well, a picture perfect life. Doesn't want to ruin it," Cosima explained easily. Everything about her seemed easy. _Carefree. _What Sarah wouldn't give for that again. "So," she started abruptly, jerking Sarah from her thoughts, "What's with the cast?"

At the mention of her injury, it seemed to suddenly make itself aware to Sarah once again, throbbing painfully. The pain meds she was given at the station, along with the crutches, must've finally been wearing off. "Fell. Twisted it, or sprained, or something, I don't know. All I know is it hurts like a bloody bitch and I need a distraction."

Cosima's mouth parted in a small movement, her eyes glinting mischievously, like something sassy was right on the edge of her lips. Apparently deciding better of it, she shut her jaw and stood abruptly and walked over to Alison's DVD collection. "Movie?" she asked, "Like I said, I've got a few hours before I need to be at the airport, we can watch a stupid Disney movie or something to pass the time."

_Disney? _Sarah nearly scoffed, _Am I bloody five? _But something about just sitting and watching a movie with Cosima, _Cos, _seemed attractive. She didn't care which movie it was, so long as they'd watch it together. _Duh Sarah. Who else would she watch it with? You're the only one here._

"Uh, yeah," Sarah said, catching herself before the silence grew too long, "Yeah, sure. Pick any movie you want, I don't care."

"Rad," Cosima said with an easy grin, her fingers brushing along the spines of the DVD cases, sometimes sweeping back and forth two or three times along a section of DVDs, other times bouncing eagerly past an entire row. "Got one!" she declared, before laughing more quietly as her gaze hit the ceiling, remembering. "Oops," she chuckled as she pried open the case. "Forgot where I was for a sec. Ever seen Frozen, Sar?" she asked, already popping it into the waiting player, turning on the TV while the player whirred the DVD to life.

_Sar... Sar, _she thought wondrously in her head, overwhelmed by this other version of herself and her optimism. It was like they weren't even the same person. _And they weren't. Not technically. Which is why I'm fine with being attracted to her. _She sat up abruptly, pain spiking through her ankle. _Wait, what, attracted what?_

"Taking that as a no then?" she prompted as the title music began to play, and she grabbed the remote, flopping back into her previously occupied couch. "You're really going to love it, I think. Even tough women like you have a soft spot. Just takes the right... touch to find it."

_Alright. My clone is hitting on me, _Sarah realized, but she still found herself to be blushing. "Let's see how skilled you are then," she fired right back, with a disturbing amount of ease.

Cosima sat back in her chair for a moment, apparently thrown off-guard by Sarah's response. "Uh, yeah. Obvs, sure. Let's.. yeah. Let's see," she nodded, once, then twice before hitting play, making sure to keep the volume low.

About a third of the way through the movie, Sarah was struggling to keep a grasp on the plot. _I really should have asked Alison for some painkillers or something. Anything, _she thought in annoyance as another unwanted grimace slipped out.

"You doing okay?" Cosima asked, turning from Elsa's song, catching Sarah's pained expression before she could hide it.

"Good. Doin' good," she replied with a grunt, trying to erase the last few traces of pain from her grimace. Something about wanting to prove that she was the "tough clone" and wasn't phased by anything. Especially not by a stupid ankle injury. Even _if _those cop doctor people had said that it was actually _broken. _

"You know," Cosima began suddenly, so suddenly that Sarah almost jumped. "They say elevation helps."

"Right," Sarah rolled her eyes as her ankle gave another painful throb. "And so do painkillers, apparently. 'Sides, what am I going to elevate my leg with? I bloody doubt Alison would let this cast near any of her precious shite pillows."

"Me," Cosima blurted, almost as suddenly as her previous statement. And Sarah could swear that she was nervous. _Why would she be bloody nervous now? _"I mean like, I could.. sit over there, on that couch and you could put your leg.. foot, er, cast on my, um, lap, right?"

Oh. _Oh... _"I.. uh," Sarah flushed as well, completely oblivious to the ice castle that was being built on screen. "Well, um, yeah I suppose you could-"

"Oh!" Cosima suddenly cut in, embarrassment lost as she pointed at the screen, "The first time I watched this movie I was like, completely high, right so, so like.. this part, I laughed so hard man, but it was the weed. It's always the weed."

"Is it the weed now?" she asked, out of nowhere. _Jeez, _she thought, _I must be the one drugged to be going off like this. _"I mean like," she found herself scrambling, "Uh, like, talking to me and... watching a movie together, we just met and uh... shite." _It's not like this is a date or anything, you need to calm down._

"For once, no," she laughed again, before looking around conspiratorially and nudging her bag with her foot, "But I've got some in here that I should probably get rid of before I go through security. And smoking weed is always so much more fun with someone else, you know?"

_Bloody hippie, _Sarah thought with an inward eye roll as her ankle throbbed. _Then again... it might help... _"I don't know much about Alison, but I'm pretty sure she'd kill us both if she smelled weed in her basement," she said instead.

"Oh. Yeah. That's true. Next time then," she replied, sounding oddly disappointed. But what was even weirder was that Sarah's emotions seemed to be mirroring Cosima's tone. _I just have to accept it. I'm attracted to her._

"Yeah... sure. Next time," Sarah agreed, sincerely hoping that there would be one, and that it wouldn't be too long since she saw Cosima in person again.

"But hey," Cosima went on, her voice soft, her attention focused on Sarah instead of the movie now. "I meant what I said about elevation. I mean, Alison would probably pop some kind of major artery if she saw that 'disease-ridden' cast on her designer throw cushions, but, like, I don't care, so-"

"Cosima," Sarah teased, uncharacteristically flirty towards a woman she just barely met. _It's the pain meds, _Sarah thought, then gave herself an inward eye roll, _Right. The medication that's already wearing off, you mean? Idiot. _"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to get close to me."

"But you don't know any better," she sassed right back and crossed over to Sarah's couch, plunking herself right down by her injured foot. "I mean, I could teach you but," she grinned and promptly yanked Sarah's foot onto her lap, earning a hiss of pain from the punk. "Where would the fun be in that?"

"Shite Cos," she snapped, but made no move to move away, choosing to settle in closer instead. "You always try to cause as much pain as possible on first dates?"

Cosima's eyes widened at her words, and suddenly Sarah was very interested in watching Anna prepare to go after her sister. "Only if said date refuses to believe that they are on a date," she whispered back, shifting her arm that was almost wedged between them and settled it around Sarah's shoulders comfortably.

She didn't move at Cosima's touch other than to relax visibly, sinking even further into her clone's side. _Clone, _she thought in her head again, as if the continuous repetition of the word would numb her to the reality of it. "The person on the date would, but...," she muttered, trailing off pathetically when her mind still rejected the notion.

Dropping all pretences, Cosima dropped her mouth to Sarah's ear and murmured, "We'll figure it out."

* * *

At some point near the end of the movie, Sarah decided to give up on following the movie's plot, _why wasn't there a proper bloody villain anyways?, _and get some sleep instead. Snuggled against Cosima's side as she was, now with both legs steepled over her thighs and an arm sandwiched between the couch and Cosima's waist, she was extremely comfortable. More comfortable than she had ever been in a long time.

"Do you have to leave?" she murmured sleepily, tilting her head back on Cosima's shoulder, where she had settled herself.

"I do have school, Sarah," she replied gently, hesitantly raising a hand to tuck an errant strand of hair in behind her ear.

"Skip," Sarah insisted belligerently, sounding, for all the world, like an obstinate child even as she was drawn to the warmth of Cosima's fingers like they were a magnetic force.

Cosima couldn't help but burst out laughing at that, struggling to reign in her volume, lest they both face Alison's wrath. "University doesn't really work like that Sarah," she smirked when she finally had her words back.

"Find an excuse," Sarah shrugged, blinking a couple times as she became more alive at the sound of Cosima's joy. "I want you to stay," she interrupted, stopping Cosima short, one hand hovering expectantly.

"Is that so?" she smirked again, and Sarah gulped.

_She's not getting the best of me, no way, _Sarah told herself determinedly, setting up a contest in her mind. "With me, yeah. Stay in town for a bit longer. I'll show you some of the sights."

Cosima bit her lip in consideration, considering the woman in her lap thoughtfully. She already knew that she was going to stay; had cancelled her flight halfway through the movie the second Sarah started dozing, but she enjoyed the teasing. "Pretty sure the only sight worth seeing would be your bed."

Sarah went slack-jawed at that, and Cosima thought she had her when she snapped her jaw shut and returned with, "Wont be seeing much of the bed, I'll wager, hm, Cos?"

_That's _when Cosima's brain finally short-circuited, Sarah's triumphant grin hardly registering in her brain as she stammered out, "I guess we'll, uh, have to figure out something to tell Alison them, uh.. um, right? Yeah.. uh, right."

"You'll figure something out. Brilliant scientist and all that, yeah?" she said, wiggling her eyebrows as she untangled herself from Cosima's lap and hopped onto her good foot, scooping her crutches up as she stood.

"Where are you going?" she asked, confusion lacing her words, missing Sarah's weight and warmth immediately.

"We gotta get out of Alison's house until we figure out what to tell her, yeah?" Cosima nodded dumbly as Sarah clipped across the floor once more, calling back softly as she continued, "Until then, however, I think there's still a hotel room with your name on it?"

Recovering, Cosima nudged her way past her clone and opened the door, indicating her passage, grinning in her ear as she swung past, "I think you might be right about that."

"Then lead the way," Sarah said cheekily in response as Cosima found the switch and killed the outer porch lights, slipping out past the door and shutting it before dashing ahead, a wide grin plastered all over her features.


End file.
